SUMMARY: Jolene Griffith, age 33, died on March 25, 1926 after an abortion perpetrated by Dr. W. J. Bryan Henrie in Grove, Oklahoma.
Dr. Henrie
On March 3, 1962, Dr. W.J. Bryan Henrie, an osteopath, performed an abortion on 33-year-old Jolene Joyce Griffith, at his clinic in Grove, Oklahoma. Jolene developed an infection, and, according to her survivors, Griffith abandoned her and provided no care to treat the infection.
On March 10, Jolene was admitted to a hospital in Tulsa. She died there on March 25, leaving behind a husband and three minor children.
Henire pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter, and served 25 months of a 4-year sentence. Upon his release, he went right back to doing abortions.
Jolene's abortion was typical of illegal abortions in that it was performed by a doctor.
In the 1960s, we see the 20th Century downward trend in abortion mortality resumed -- until a brief upturn starting in 1968, when some states first started loosening their abortion laws. For more, see Abortion Deaths in the 1960's.
On March 10, Jolene was admitted to a hospital in Tulsa. She died there on March 25, leaving behind a husband and three minor children.
Henire pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter, and served 25 months of a 4-year sentence. Upon his release, he went right back to doing abortions.
Jolene's abortion was typical of illegal abortions in that it was performed by a doctor.
Abortion rights activists continue to revere Henrie, and to totally ignore the fate of Jolene Griffith. What's a few dead women among friends?
In the 1960s, we see the 20th Century downward trend in abortion mortality resumed -- until a brief upturn starting in 1968, when some states first started loosening their abortion laws. For more, see Abortion Deaths in the 1960's.
For more on pre-legalization abortion, see The Bad Old Days of Abortion
Sources: